Good Karma Bus Community

25/07/2026

897 children in Port Stephens were recorded victims of child sexual assault in the 5 years to March 2026. That's 20% higher than the state average.

It's terrible but true and we know that reported disclosure of child sexual assault to police is a fraction of actual cases.

🚨 We are on a mission to make Port Stephens a child safe community and we need your help 🫵🏼. Latest crime statistics show we have a lot of work to do (see below). We have higher incidence of child sexual assault than the state average and the numbers are shocking. ⚠️

Join us at our Community Child Safety Education Session with Kristy McVee and learn how we all can help children feel safe, heard and protected. 💕

📆 SAVE THE DATE- Saturday 8th August 8.30am, St Phillips College Salamander Bay

Who is this event for? It's for anyone who has any connection to children in their lives. You may be a neighbour to children, your friends may have children, you may be a grandparent. Basically every adult in the community. Bring your sister, bring your husband and bring your friends.

Here are the shocking statistics for Port Stephens.
🥲 897 sexual offences committed against children (0 - 17 yrs)
🥲 1166 sexual offences committed against all age groups
🥲 20% higher incidence of child sexual offences in Port Stephens compared to state average

Here are some NSW statistics:
🥲 40% of child sexual offences are committed on children under 10 years old
🥲 Only around 7-8% of child sexual offences reported to police result in a conviction (not good enough)
🥲 9% year on year increase in recorded sexual assault incidents

Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
April 2021 - March 2026

The link to book tickets is in the first comment.

24/07/2026

🚨 Be Aware: National Mobile Alert System TEST planned for Monday 27 July 2pm. This alert will sound on ALL phones even if on silent . To avoid this alert sounding 📢 on your phone it needs to be switched off or in aerolane mode.

Vulnerable people (concealing 'safe phones') are warned to keep phones turned off during the national test.

23/07/2026

This is a must attend community event for YOU 🫵🏼.

🚨 Child safety is the responsibility of all of us and we need to do better as a society and as a community. Port Stephens has a 20% higher rate of victims of child sexual assault than the state average (Official NSW recorded crime statistics to March 2026). Shockingly, 897 reported instances in the last 5 years.

This event will help you better understand how we can all help children feel safe, heard and protected. 💕 Guest speaker, Kristi McVee, is a former child sexual assault detective and she brings extensive experience and dedication to this education session.

Bring your neighbours, friends, parents, cousins, aunties and uncles and siblings (Adult Only Event). This is an event for all the community.

Book your tickets now. (Link in first comment)👇🏼

21/07/2026

Literary lovers 📚 and history buffs this local event is for you. Saturday 25th July 3.30pm at The Anchorage. Tickets available from Readers Retreat or scan QR Code in image. Meet highly regarded literary historian and lecturer- Susannah Fullerton, OAM RRSN.

17/07/2026

🚨 We are on a mission to make Port Stephens a child safe community and we need your help 🫵🏼. Latest crime statistics show we have a lot of work to do (see below). We have higher incidence of child sexual assault than the state average and the numbers are shocking. ⚠️

Join us at our Community Child Safety Education Session with Kristy McVee and learn how we all can help children feel safe, heard and protected. 💕

📆 SAVE THE DATE- Saturday 8th August 8.30am, St Phillips College Salamander Bay

Who is this event for? It's for anyone who has any connection to children in their lives. You may be a neighbour to children, your friends may have children, you may be a grandparent. Basically every adult in the community. Bring your sister, bring your husband and bring your friends.

Here are the shocking statistics for Port Stephens.
🥲 897 sexual offences committed against children (0 - 17 yrs)
🥲 1166 sexual offences committed against all age groups
🥲 20% higher incidence of child sexual offences in Port Stephens compared to state average

Here are some NSW statistics:
🥲 40% of child sexual offences are commited on children under 10 years old
🥲 Only around 7-8% of child sexual offences reported to police result in a conviction (not good enough)
🥲 9% year on year increase in recorded sexual assault incidents

Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
April 2021 - March 2026

The link to book tickets is in the first comment.

15/07/2026

Got plans for THIS Saturday night? Now you do 👇🏼 join the Readers Retreat for another fantastic local event showcasing local writer Dael Allison. 📚

01/07/2026

Imagine being gifted a 3-month AI skills program to future-proof your career prospects worth $150. That's exactly what we have on offer.

Do you know someone who deserves a boost to help set them up? We are seeking applications from worthy candidates to offer a free 3 month membership to join the AI Pocket Rocket- Rocketeers.

For every 10 paying Rocketeers members, AI Pocket Rocket 🚀 is offering one complimentary seat to a not-for-profit worker, social enterprise business owner, or a worthy community member who deserves a seat at the table. It's a simple online form to apply (link in the first comment)

If you know someone who should apply, tag them below.

01/07/2026

I couldn’t have put it better, thank you 🙏 to our friends Salamander Early Education. (Big and Small) for helping us raise awareness about our precious Mambo Wetlands and standing with the many people in our community who are fighting to protect it. ❤️ especially Mambo-Wanda Wetlands Conservation Group

24/06/2026

😁 This is a positive step in protecting our local environment thanks to a group of locals who make up Mambo-Wanda Wetlands Conservation Group and the backing of many in the community who have helped by signing the petition opposing development on the Mambo Wetland Buffer Zone. Thanks everyone that helped. We're not there yet but it's a good start.

MEDIA STATEMENT
Mayor Leah Anderson tonight brought a Mayoral Minute before council that acknowledged the concerns of the community over its plans to encroach on Mambo Wetlands in Salamander Bay.
The Mambo Wanda Wetlands Conservation Group, MWWCG, will be involved in a consultation with council's General Manager to look at a revised footprint for building on section 3, the area of Mambo Wetlands buffer west of Tomaree library.
The Mayor acknowledged that understanding the existing damage to the wetlands buffer was a key factor in her decision to have a review. Mayor Anderson thanked the Mambo Conservation Group for providing information to the public on this issue.
While we welcome this consultation, the Mambo Conservation group remain concerned about councils plans for other areas around Salamander Way and the lack of a coordinated plan for the "Town Centre".
A BIG THANK YOU to the community who made this happen.

17/06/2026

The not-so-good news is that womens jobs are 3 x more likely to be automated by AI in the future. The great news is you can take control and do something about this- futureproof yourself. Best of all Good Karma Bus in giving access to women who couldn't otherwise get involved 👇🏼

Here's a quiet truth that doesn't get said enough.
Women's jobs are more exposed to automation than men's. Some research suggests women are nearly three times more likely to be in roles that AI can easily take on, because we're overrepresented in admin and routine work. (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2025.)

And yet, in Australian workplaces, only 40% of women use AI compared to 61% of men. Just 43% of women say they trust it, versus 70% of men.

Read those two facts together. 😧 The group with the most to gain from getting confident with AI is the group least likely to have started.

That is not an ability problem. Women perform just as well with AI when they're given access and support. It's a confidence and access problem. And those can be fixed. ☑️

That's exactly what AI Pocket Rocket 🚀 is for. A safe, welcoming place to build real AI confidence, 20 minutes a week, with a community of women doing it alongside you. No one left behind.

We are launching soon so join the waitlist and be the first to get the details: https://mailchi.mp/69f5ae73ca91/ai-pocket-rocket-waitlist

Be honest: Do you think your job is at risk of automation through AI? You're not alone. Tell me below. 👇